Moving and losing?

Thinking of moving to another country?

There are many advantages and disadvantages. It's easy to overlook the fact that you may have to give up your right to vote - to have a say in decision making which affects you in the new home.

For European Union citizens, freedom of movement need not necessarily mean the loss of all rights. You can vote in local elections (Click here for more details) and in European Parliament elections (Click here for more details) in the new country.

But there is no right to vote in national elections.

A campaign is underway to educate EU citizens about their rights - and to campaign for the right to vote in national elections in the place where a person lives. The website is worth visiting - at http://www.letmevote.eu/en/

You can follow 'Le Me Vote' on twitter - https://twitter.com/letmevoteEU

EU Law - not just an academic subject!

In order to gain a "Qualifying Law Degree" in English Law, it is necessary to have a solid grounding in EU Law. Since Britain joined the EEC (now EU)  in 1973 - it has become as much a part of English law as statutes passed at Westminster and as cases decided within English Courts. [see European Communities Act 1973 s2].

There are some excellent textbooks & casebooks available. But the practical details of the law - the rights it gives to European citizens; to persons trading or working in other Member States; can be found in literature available from the EU institutions.  Sometimes these can be a lot more readable than some academic texts.

It can also be useful to consider how the rules make a difference to individuals (a useful approach for lawyers!)

So here's a short list of links:-

Free Movement of Persons

Looking for work abroad
Cross-border Commuting
Retirement - other than in one's country of origin
Free Movement for EU nationals
How to enforce your rights

Free Movement of Goods & Services

Goods
Services

EU citizenship

There's a question and answer publication by ECAS ['50 Q & A about your rights as a citizen of the EU'] available here.
and from the London Office of the European Commission:
What's in it for me: http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/pdf/the_eu_for_me_web.pdf
Your Europe: Your Rights: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/the-euro-area-pbKC3112553/